Mike Laforge

Ph.D. Candidate

A passion for understanding animal movement ecology has led me to a PhD position in the Wildlife Evolutionary Ecology Lab. Climate change is resulting in many species failing to match the timing of important seasonal events (e.g., reproduction) to those of critical resources—a phenological mismatch. My project will involve examining migration patterns in Newfoundland caribou in order to examine how climate change is affecting migration timing and subsequently reproductive success of female caribou. My project takes an individual-based approach to the question of phenological mismatch, by examining the consistency and plasticity of migration behaviour across a gradient of environmental conditions. My project will also use collared individuals on Fogo Island, NL to further investigate the role of plant green-up on caribou vital rates.